OXFORD, England (CNS) — The bishop who
administers the church in Kuwait criticized legislation that
would restrict Christian places of worship in the country.

“There’ll be problems if the government adopts
this proposal; it’s out of step with the traditions of Kuwait,
which seeks to be an open, tolerant country welcoming
other religions besides Islam,” said Italian-born Bishop
Camillo Ballin, apostolic administrator of Kuwait.

Such proposals come “from ideologies which
want to divide the world between Muslims and non-
Muslims,” he told Catholic News Service March 12.

In February, the newly formed al-Adala (Justice)
Bloc introduced legislation to remove Christian churches
from Kuwait and impose Islamic law, or Shariah. Party
officials said later the legislation would not remove the
churches but prohibit further construction of Christian
churches and non-Muslim places of worship in the
country. It also introduces Islam-inspired measures to
fight corruption and “strengthen national unity.”

Bishop Ballin told CNS that al-Adala’s claims that
there were more churches in Kuwait than needed by its
Christian minority were untrue and took account only of
the small number of Christians who were ethnic Kuwaitis.
He said the church needs at least 36,000 square yards of
additional space to accommodate practicing Catholics.

“When religious life is assured, social life is also
easier — so why can’t our foreign members have a place
for worship?” the bishop asked.

“We want to collaborate with the government to
make an ever-better society in Kuwait. But for this, we
need to ensure constant religious education for our
faithful, and this requires space, time and personnel.

“The world is becoming one big village, where we
cannot separate people and religions,” he added. “We have
to live as brothers, since we’re together every day.”

He said Christian minorities were respected in
Kuwait and that he had “never experienced enmity”
despite wearing his cassock and pectoral cross
everywhere.

“Our faithful take many initiatives here, running
associations and prayer groups, as well as meeting for
spiritual formation and helping the poor. Most
importantly, they are predominantly young and zealous
and wish to stay faithful to their Catholic faith,” the
bishop said.

The Catholic Church claims 350,000 mostly
expatriate members in Kuwait, making up 6 percent of the
emirate’s population.

Several other Christian groups, Kuwait’s Council
for Islamic-Christian Relations and the Kuwait Human
Rights Society also criticized the proposal by the Islamic
parliamentary bloc.